Old Town Coffee Tea & Spice

Great spot! Family owned and run, HUGE selection of coffee and tea, and plenty of other goodies, too! You can also get a cup of any tea they have to try new kinds for next time :-) This is my go-​to spot for whole bean coffee, loose leaf tea, and gifts for people I love. Thanks, Frank & Co!

This place has a great selection. They even had the higher caffeine tea I was looking for. Man behind the counter was very helpful and made good suggestions of flavors to try. I will be going back.

The manager here is a jerk. I asked him if any of his coffees had certifications and he acted very put off. Also asked him what his most popular sellers were, to which he proceeded to hang up on me to «assist other customers». I won’t be patronizing this store any time soon.

Hands down the best selection of loose leaf tea in the region, and better prices than what you will find online. If you take the time to get to know the shop owner and employees, they will get to know your tastes and let you sample some truly fine teas.
High end teas are sold by the ounce, unlike most merchants who only sell certain pre-​determined quantities. Pro tip: on a per cup basis, high end teas are the least expensive gourmet beverage you can find given the amount of times the leaves can be infused.
Looking for Yixing clay pots, Japanese cast iron pots, British ceramic pots? They have them. All manner of strainers? Yup. Fine tea ware? Of course.
If you are new to fine tea, the selection is probably a bit overwhelming. The benefit here is that the staff is highly knowledgeable and can guide you to something you will like.

Warning: I’m biased. This was my first coffee shop– plus, they sold chocolate. 12 years old and I was hooked. Love this shop, have loved it for the past 34 years. Talking to Frank about coffee is like talking to a sommelier about wines– knowledge, palate, passion. It’s all there. This is not an in-​and-​out place, take time to browse and sniff and inquire and then sip (or gulp) and enjoy!
Some rare and unique beans and blends. Love the earthy dark roasts but also have a strange addiction to the decaf (I know? Right?) Grand Marnier.
Currently slurping away at Danish Breakfast.

Great place, If I remember well, they have about 250 different types of tea for $ 1 a cup to go… This place is a gem and the guys behind the counter are helpful in making suggestions of what you might like depending on your taste… Very chill environment… Check it out.
Cheers,
Mo

Old Town deserves a better coffee spot than this. It’s been my experience, after using this place for more than a year, that their beans are less than fresh. Customer service is good if you get the young guy. If it’s the older lady, forget it. She sniffed and sneezed all over the beans before I finally walked out today.
The customer ahead of me ordered a pound of «fresh» beans for her Keurig machine. Yeah. That about sums it up.

Fresh Tea! Great prices! If i drank coffee it would even be more of a treat. The staff is very knowledgeable. Capital Tea and Tevana are extremely expensive. I will say that the selection is not the same as these places but they have great stuff.

My favorite tea place ever. The prices are very cheap compared to the tea at Teavana or any of those crap chain tea places that upcharge you. And the staff has always been friendly and so helpful with finding the right tea for me.
And get this, you can have them make you a cup of tea from any of their selection for 1 DOLLAR. That’s right, a hell of a deal!
Here are my go-​to teas:
Lili’uokalani — Black tea with some tropical fruits and flowers
Green Earl Grey — Nice classic with bergamot flavor, but with green tea instead
Passion & Envy: Green tea with mango, papaya, pineapple and blue mallow flowers
I usually get a quarter pound of tea and it usually comes out between $ 4 – 6. And it lasts me for months. (I usually drink 4 – 6 cups of tea a week.)
They also sell coffee and many tea and coffee related accessories. Very close to the waterfront, so this would be a great spot to peruse while spending the day in Old Town Alexandria.

A hobbit hole of a tea shop with European chocolates and candy to boot. Huge variety, friendly staff, dark interior, and an old-​world feeling. You’ll return to this magical world.

Nice people. Very friendly and helpful. Best latte in DC. Bean blend was just ok at home. Highly recommended.

A good selection of loose leaf teas, at a fraction of the price of more commercial stores and chains. An added bonus: you can buy a cup of any tea for $ 1 to sample a flavor before buying more loose leaf.
The store itself is a bit cluttered, featuring lots of tea and coffee paraphernalia, along with chocolates and some other items.
So far, I’ve been here once and bought one kind of tea — it’s good and I’d shop here again if I found myself in the area.

This is my favorite Tea shop EVER! I have been several time now and I always keep coming back. I must visit place in Old Town Alexandria. It’s hidden away but it’s totally worth finding. The tea is inexpensive and the best part is that you can buy the loose tea AND drink a cup of any tea for $ 1. No other place does this. They also have coffee which you can buy in either bean or brewed form (also about $ 1 a cup). It’s delicious!!!

I love the feel of this place, its homey and ecclectic. I wish it was closer, as I would love to make it a morning coffee/​tea run but, alas, the cross 2 county commute prohibits that.
HOWEVER, I make it my own way. The prices are reasonable on the NUMEROUS kinds of teas and coffees that have, and everything is delicious. I stock up every several months for mornings and at my job, and come back again when I’m running low.
The employees were very helpful and amusing. I felt appreciated and valued as a customer. Thank you OTCT&S… I will be a customer for life :)

I am currently sipping on a delicious and inexpensive nonfat almond latte with cinnamon that I just purchased at Old Town Coffee Tea and Spice. It is, by a mile, the best latte I’ve ever had– tied with every other almond latte I’ve ever purchased at this specific coffee shop. (Consistency FTW.) It’s so good, that I will choose this coffee shop over Starbucks every day of the week.
Aside from great coffee, what should you know?
— The owners are great people
— They play classical music in the store, so if you’re stressed out, the wait for your coffee alone will lower your anxiety level.
— They sell every single kind of tea you could image. I have some cinnamon plum tea on my desk I bought there. Yum.
— They sell unique candy.
— They sell single serving candy– like one piece of chocolate! I occasionally pair my latte with one chocolate truffle, for example.
I think that’s it for now. It’s definitely worth a trip.

I love this place — my new favorite place to get tea! They have so much tea to choose from and the guy who runs it is really nice and very knowledgeable about all the different types. He can say the best way to steep, for how long, and a lot more technical specifics that I can’t elaborate on.
Other than tea, they have a great selection of candy, chocolate, and other snacks from around the world, that all pair well with tea. And anything you can think of that relates to tea.
Everything is very reasonably priced.
Oh and they have a lot of coffee as well, but it’s not as interesting to me =)
The sign on the outside of the building doesn’t say the name, you have to go into the carriage house shops or something like that. Just look for the address.

Excellent independent coffee, tea, and spice shop tucked away in Old Town on Union Street. Their selection of tea was fantastic and they graciously agreed to blend two of my favorites. Prices were reasonable, staff was friendly. I wish I had had more time to explore, but will definitely be back.
If you’re a tea person, this place has a better selection and is much less gimicky than Teavana and its ilk. Worth a look-​see.

Reopened today! ($ 31 worth of coffee bought!)
Oh My Goodness… do you like good, fresh coffee? How about fresh tea? Chocolate? How about novelty pantry items from Europe?
Yeah, seriously, I have given the owner (Frank) a «Man Hug.» This place is so good that if you love coffee — you’ll be shouting «I love you, man!» too.
Now, I am a coffee snob. Yes, I will slurp a Starbucks or nosh a bagel at a local neighborhood café, but in truth — those place’s idea of Columbian coffee, frankly, stinks. But Old Town Coffee, Tea & Spice — fresh, lovely aromas in both regular and decaf brands. And at a better bulk price than you’ll get from the other places which are selling stale stocks. The stock here is fresh, aromatic, and diverse! Also loose teas from all over. This small, eclectic shop has the best Belgium chocolates, the finest European foods — including chocolate coins, and fresh STROOPWAFFLES from the Netherland. If you’ve never had one, then you won’t understand the following line — and after you have one, you’ll understand why…
– STROOPWAFFLES, PEOPLE! STROOPWAFFLES! –
Yes, that good. And Frank and his family are some of the nicest people that you’ll ever meet. They care about their service, and will help you make decisions regarding anything they sell.
Bottom line: «Frank, I love you man!»

What a wonderful little shop!
Aside from fantastic coffee, there was excellent conversation with the shop owner. I wish I had more time to stick around and take a look for more, but I had a work appointment.
I’ll make sure to stop by and check out everything in closer detail next time I’m in the area for business.

I would never have known this place existed let alone how to find it had my girlfriend not taken me here. Tucked away in a unremarkable building off-​the-​beaten King St. path in Old Town, only a small sign marks the spot for Old Town Coffee Tea & Spice. Once inside this independent, coffee/​tea/​spice house, you’ll get hit with the pleasing smell of their product. To my pleasant surprise, they carry Kona coffee beans, my favorite type of coffee, and even have Jamaican Blue Mountain which I’ve heard about but had never tried.
For my inaugural trip, I decided on a pound of the Blue Mountain and a pound of Guatemalan Huehuetenango. What can I say? I go through a pound of coffee quickly! I’ve added Old Town Coffee Tea & Spice to my list, along with Misha’s, as much superior alternatives to Starbucks for interesting whole bean coffee.